Cleveland: 18 indicted in cocaine ring investigation

CLEVELAND -- Eighteen people have been indicted in connection with an alleged cocaine ring.

The 18, from the Cleveland area, face charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.

"The charges detail a conspiracy that pushed cocaine onto the streets of Cleveland," said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. "Members of this group were found with body armor, numerous firearms and piles of cash."

The charges cover alleged illegal conduct between April 2011 and the present.

Federal prosecutors say stash houses were used in Cleveland and East Cleveland to hide the drugs.

Overall, prosecutors are seeking to forfeit more than $180,000 in cash, body armor, four handguns and a shotgun, according to the indictment, as well as 13 bottles of champagne seized at one of the defendant's homes.

They say the ring's alleged leader was an ex-con convicted of drug trafficking in 1990.